Coal-hole cover.



FRANK.

COAL HOLE COVER.

APPLICATION FILED 1uLY21.1916.

J. FRANK.

COAL HOLE COVER.

APPLICATION FILED IIIIY 21, 1916.

Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- IIIIIIIIIW" "u" "if",

JOSEIHFRANK, OF NEW'YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR-TO THOMAS Il. GREEN,

0Fv NEW YORK, N. Y.

COAL-HOLE COVER.

Specicati'on of Lettersl Patent.

I)atent`ed Jan. 8, 1918.

Appiication-mea my 21, 191e. serial No. 110,583.

To all whom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, JOSEPH FRANK, a citizen of the United States, residing, at New York, in the county of New York. and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coal-Hole Cov' ers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to improvements in what are. commonly known as coal hole covers of. the type usually located on sidewalks and. similari places, and. by' which access may be hadA toa. coal opening: leading directly to a place of deposit for coal, or establishing communication withV a cond-uit or passage leading to the point of deposit.

The object of the invention has been to devise a coal hole cover equippedwith guard means for safety purposes and of such a construction that when the cover is opened said means will prevent pedestrians from stepping into the hole which is partially inclosed thereby. Furthermore, wheny the cover is in its normal position, it is'impossible for a person to be catapulted into the coal hole or opening. The guard means is also adapted to preventthe scattering of the coal over the sidewalk or other places where the coal opening may happenV to be provided.

Still another object of the invention is the production of guard means of the nature above set forth, which guard means is so connected with the coalhole cover that when the latter is raised and caused to assume its open position, the guard means will at the same time be raised into an operative position whereby to secure the results previously mentioned. n

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view a complete understanding ofthe present invention will be had upon reference to the following detail description, and to the accompanying drawings, in which:V

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a pavement such as is provided adjoining a building, a coal hole being illustrated with a cover and guard means constructed in accordance with the invention, and a passage or conduit leading from the coal hole proper to. a' point within the building wherethe coal is intended to be deposited.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the coalhole and cover mea-ns bringing outmore fully the manner in which the guard'means` is secured to the cover, dotted lines illustrating the parts in their open position.

,Fig 3 is a plan view showing the parts illustra-'ted in Fig. 2, with the cover in open position.

Fig. Ll is a perspective view of a modified adaptation of the invention in which the cover and guard means are equipped with a top guard plate inv addition to the side or cheek pieces or guard members which latter only are illustrated` in the preferred construction of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of still an other modification of the invention.`

Referring to the drawings, and particularly describing the invention in its details, A denotes a pavement and B the wall of a building adjacent thereto. C designates the curb of the pavement and l the coalhole which is customarily located as near to the curb as practicable for the obvious purpose of facilitating the introduction therein of the coal or other material to be deposited, directly from a wagon or the like located on the street. From the coal hole l a conduit 2 leads to a point within the building having the wall B aforesaid. Said coal hole l, however, may be otherwise located, as by being directly over the coal shaft, the particular location of said coal hole not being material or essential to the invention.

The coal holev 1 has the customary metal lining 3, seen best in Figs. l and 2, a cover frame t being situated at the upper end of the lining and seated on the latter preferably. The frame i is formed with a seat 4 in its upper side, in which the cover 5 is adapted to rest when closed, said cover then being flush with the surface of the frame and the surface of the pavement A as well known in this art. The seat la referred to` is provided by the formation of a lateral iange` 6 extending from the inner side of the frame Ll on all four sides of said frame.

The cover 5 is preferably of the hinged type, being hinged at its inner edge portion as at 7, and therefore, adapted to be raised at the outer edge so as to swing backwardly away from the curb C as depicted in dotted lines in-Fig. 2. On its under side the cover 5 is formed with flanges 5a and seated against the-se {ianges and therefore somewhat spaced from they under surface ofA the coveig. is the attaching member 8 of the guard means forming the essential features of the invention. Said attaching membei 8 has the side or cheek pieces 8 formed therewith and located in spaced relation so that when the cover 5 is raised into its open position the said cheek pieces 8 together with the parts 8 and 5 inclose the space above the coal hole l on three sides. Ow-

i ing to the formation of the partsV of the guard means as stated, it is obvious that when the cover 5 is in raised or open position, coal or other material thrown into the coal hole l will be very readily directed into the hole and prevented from scattering over the pavement or sidewalk A in the objectionablemanner so frequently noticed incident to the use of coal holes today. It is contemplated that the guard means shall be secured in any substantial manner to the under side of the cover 5, the attaching portion 8 being bolted or otherwise secured to the cover by faste-nings such as indicated at 9 in Fig. 2, any suitable number of which fasteni'ngs may be employed. The attaching portion 8 is seated directly against the flanges 5a and it is obvious that should occasion require renewal of the guard means, suoli operation may be expedited by the removal of the fastenings, such as 9, and the replacement of a new guard device, such as is comprised by the parts 8 and 8.

In order to limit the opening movement of the cover 5, the guard means aforesaid is supplied with a stop in the form of a cross bar or strap 10, the ends of which are suitably and rigidly secured to the opposite lowermost corner portions of the cheek or side pieces 8. This stop l0 performs its stop function by abutment with the outer-V most portion of the iiange 6 forming the seat 4a for the cover 5, and it will be noticed from the drawings that the side pieces 8 of the guard means are downwardly and inwardly elongated whereby it is possible to open the cover 5 sufhciently to permit said cover to lean rearwardly with respect to a perpendicular plane coincident with the innermost wall of the coal hole l. Under these conditions the weight of the cover is suiiicient to maintain it in an open position once it has been raised so as to assume the said position illustrated by the dotted lines Vin Fig. 2. The foregoing advantage is secured, owing to the construction which may otherwise be described as involving the location of the stop 10 a greater distance from the outermost portion of the flange 6 or scat la than an are of 90O of movement of the cover 5.

The stop 10 not only performs its stop function but constitutes a brace intermediate the parts 8.

Copies of this patent may bey obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the .Washingtomkdw g, l

In Fig. 4 is represented a further embodiment of the invention in which the construction previously described is supplemented by the provision of anauxiliary top guard plate 8 the latter havingedge iianges riveted or otherwise fastened to the side pieces 8 aforesaid at the front edges of the latter. lVhen the cover of the modified construction is opened, it will be apparent that the space above the coal hole l will be inclosed not only at the three sides, as previously suggested in regard to the preferred construction of the invention but at the top as well. The space between the parts 8 is, of course, sufficient to readily allow the chute from a vcoal wagon or similar supply vehicle being positioned with itsy lower end between said parts.

It is contemplated within the purview of the invention to dispense with the attaching portion 8 of the guard means and secure the side members or cheek pieces 8 directly to flanges 8 on the underside of the cover or lid 5, the securing means being rivets or any suitable fastenings. A handle 5 of any conventional type may be provided for the cover 5. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. Coal hole covering means comprising a frame, a cover adapted to be seated on said frame and formed on its under side with flanges, guard means comprising an attaching portion seated onVY said iianges' and spaced from the'cover, said attaching portion being formed with integral side pieces disposed in spaced relation and projecting downwardly from said cover, fastenings connec'tiing said attaching vportion with the cover, and a stop comprisinga member connecting the lowermost portions of said side pieces and adapted to abut with the frame to limit the opening movement of the rover.

2. Coal hole covering -means comprising a horizontal frame adapted' to be positioned in a coal hole, a cover seated on the frame, guard means carried by the under side of said cover and comprising spaced side pieces projecting downwardly from the cover and adapted to move upwardas the latter is opened so as to assume guard positions at opposite sides ofthe coal hole, the said side pieces being formed so that their lower extremities are of such a f distance from the free end of the cover as to permit opening movement of the coverthrough an arc greater than 900, and stop means on the lowermost portions of said side pieces cooperative with the frameto limit the ex-` tent of said opening movement.

' In testimony whereof l affix mv signature.

JOSEPH FRANK.

Commissioner of Patents,Y 

